Still Doesn't Know
by TheStripedyZebra
Summary: My little drabble which I am continuing as of now inspired by episode 6 of season 2. Rated for implied dirty acts. ;o Arthur/Merlin
1. Still Oblivious

**Hello! So, I've been catching up on season two(they haven't aired it where I live- sadface) and while watching 'Beauty and the Beast- Part II," a lovely little idea popped into my head when I saw Arthur's reaction to Merlin hiding under his bed. I hope you enjoy this little drabble and find it worth your time to review it. Haven't had this beta'd, so any mistakes are all my doing and uh.. oh yeah! Rating is for the implied slashyslash. Well, the implied stuff that comes with the slash. **

**Btw, I no own Merlin or any part of it. Makes me a saaad panda.**

* * *

All the recent events that had taken place-his father marrying a troll, Merlin leaving, the tax, being disinherited- weighed on Arthur's shoulders as he climbed into bed and blew out the candle. He closed his eyes as his thoughts drifted, as they always did at this time of night, back to Merlin, wondering if he was safe.

Suddenly, he heard a voice he knew all too well whisper his name. "Arthur," the voice called again when it received no reply. He first thought it to be Merlin's, hoped it was him, but that was impossible, for he had left. Soon, Arthur was on his feet, sword drawn, demanding the intruder show themselves.

He heard a laugh, and Merlin, of all people, slid out from under his bed. After his heart beat slowed, he managed to exasperatedly sigh, "You're back," at his unbelievable manservant. His shock at finding the boy in his chambers, of all places, masked his flooding relief at both the boy being alright and that he hadn't done what he…normally did when he missed Merlin. He'd never let Arthur live it down; it could have even scared his manservant away.

Then Merlin said it. "I never left," the warlock informed Arthur, grinning, obviously proud he had managed to fool everyone into thinking he really had been gone, even Arthur. That did it. Arthur's mind began racing. _How long had he been under there? What had he seen? Oh, God, what had he_ heard?

"If you've been under there this whole time…" Arthur trailed off, satisfied at how his tone resembled threatening rather than completely alarmed and nervous.

"What? No, no, of course not," Merlin promised him, seeming confused as to why Arthur would be so angry, or at least so against Merlin stowing away in his chambers while he was searched for.

Even more relieved than when Merlin first revealed himself, Arthur simply replied, "Good." His heart was light- Merlin still didn't know. His secret was safe! Then his heart sank like a stone. Merlin still didn't know.

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**Thoughts?**

**Please express them to me by leaving a review, for, even though it'd be pretty awesome if I could, I am unable to hear your thoughts through the computer.**

**;D**

**And thanks so much for reading!**

**Oh, and did anyone else get the same impression of Arthur doing something he wasn't supposed that had to do with Merlin during the episode? And what about that little grin on Merlin's part at the end? It all seems very suspicious to me. Those boys are both pretty shifty, in my opinion.**

**Hmm...**


	2. Shouldn't Dream of It

**Hello! Now, I _have_ decided to continue this fic. However, I'm going to try something a little different with it. Instead of it being the one-shot I originally intended, I'm turning this into a big (and slightly out of order) fic with several situations involving the main secrets between Arthur and Merlin- Arthur's love for Merlin, Merlin's love for Arthur, and Merlin's magic. I'll just be taking situations from episodes and putting them in a slashier light. C: It's the only idea I really liked out of those I came up with for continuing this fic. But, it may take a while for new chapters to come up since I like to watch the episodes again before I write in order to get an idea of where to start, and it sometimes takes a little while for me to get around to finding/watching them… Anyway, after all that, I hope you enjoy this fic, and please leave a review letting me know what you think of where this is all headed. Aaaaaaand, go!**

**Disclaimer: I own nada in regards to the show. It's just so disgustingly fun to twist its events to fit my slasher mind. C:**

**VVVVVVV**

As Merlin descended the stone staircase, a bodiless voice caused him to jump out of his skin in shock. "This has to stop," Arthur said gravely, stepping from the shadows. Striding toward Merlin, his face remained somber and there was even a knowing glint in the prince's eye. "The king would have your head if he found out. There's no point in denying it."

Merlin, whose heart had been pounding furiously at Arthur's first words, suddenly began beating to an agonizingly slow rhythm. No. No, no, _no_. Arthur _couldn't_ know about his magic. When had he even taken the opportunity to use it recently? With everyone on the alert for any signs of sorcery, even Merlin wasn't stupid enough to use his own magic. How could Arthur know?

Forcing himself to remain calm, Merlin swallowed and asked slowly with a note of what he hoped Arthur would take for confusion, "Deny what?" He hoped the prince didn't notice the slight crack in his voice as he raised the question. Merlin panicked inwardly as his master paused, squinting thoughtfully at the raven-haired boy.

Arthur finally responded, "Your affections for Lady Morgana." Immediately, the lead weight Merlin felt settling in the pit of his stomach disappeared, relief making him numb, and he laughed aloud. His relief was so intense he was finding it hard to breathe as he replied, "Right," and began walking away, desperate to leave before he lost his last thread of control over his legs.

Arthur, however, did not intend on letting him off so lightly. "Take some advice from someone who knows about women," the prince said condescendingly, but not unkindly, and clasped Merlin's shoulder. His naturally cheeky nature made him unable to resist replying, "If such a person existed, I would."

"Stick to girls who are more-," the prince paused, struggling for the right words with which to phrase his rebuttal, "how can I put it? On your level," he finished with a roll of his eyes and a slight smirk at his friend.

Slightly offended, but still immensely happy his secret remained intact, Merlin replied, "Thanks," glancing down at the floor. With the subtle change in the atmosphere of the room, the prince seemed to grow uncomfortable and so, with a playful shove to Merlin's shoulder, he started off toward his chambers, pointing at Merlin and insisting, "You can't hide anything from me, Merlin." He smiled slightly as he passed, and Merlin mimicked the expression.

Once the blond's footsteps faded, though, the grin faltered and slipped away from the angular face entirely. "Wouldn't dream of it," he said quietly to no one in particular. Though he was ecstatic that his magic remained concealed from all but one in the kingdom, that Arthur still didn't know, Merlin's heart still sank under the weight of both of his secrets- Arthur _still_ didn't know.

**VVVVVVV**

**Thanks for reading! c:**

**(Inspired by 2 x 03- "The Nightmare Begins")  
**


	3. Something About Him

**Three things: One, I am terribly sorry for waiting forever and a day to post this, or update anything else.**

**Two, I still own no part of Merlin.**

**Three, this episode had too much innuendo for me not to write this.**

**Aaaaaand, go!**

**VVVVVVV**

As I walked through the lower town, watching the peasants mill about on the streets amongst dust and the squeals of various livestock, I noticed a face that had been stuck in my head, occupying all of my recent thoughts. I couldn't resist calling out to him, trying to get his attention for a brief moment. "How's your knee walking coming along?" I taunted, receiving a laugh from those around me. The idiot, _Mer_lin, completely ignored my jibe, however, and continued walking in the opposite direction. Did he _still _not understand just _who_ I was, or realize the authority I had over him? I called out again, laughing, making my tone light to mask my frustration with the idiotic, intriguing man who dared challenge my actions. "Oh, don't run away!"

"From you?" he responded, not yet turning to face me. Sarcastically, to hide my genuine pleasure at hearing his voice again, I said, "Ah, thank God. I thought you were deaf as well as dumb."

There was barely a pause before he began, "Look, I told you you're an ass; I just didn't realize you were a royal one." Turning slowly to face me, he raised his eyebrows at the men crowded around me and continued, "Oh what are you going to do? Get your daddy's men to protect you?" He leaned backward, mockingly smiling.

I barked a laugh which the knights surrounding me echoed. "I could take you apart with one blow," I chuckled condescendingly, completely aware of both meanings one could give the statement.

"I could take you apart with less than that," he replied, and I found, to my slight surprise and possible horror, that I very much wanted to find out if there was truth to his words.

"You sure?" I frowned, shrugging, hiding my desire to test the lanky youth's threat through sinful, forbidden methods.

A look of determination settled on Merlin's face, and he suddenly yanked off his jacket, much to the amusement and interest of myself and those around us. I tossed him a mace, saying, "Here you go, big man," and he fumbled to catch it, a flash of embarrassment and possible nervousness in his eyes before he bent down to retrieve the fallen weapon. I expertly raised and swung the mace over my head and something unfamiliar squirmed in the pit of my stomach at the apprehension on Merlin's face as I informed him, "I've been trained to kill since birth," with one eyebrow quirked arrogantly. The menacing clank and whooshing sounds of the chain on the mace echoed between us.

"Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?" he retorted, grinning cheekily, seemingly recovered from his moment of unease.

Slightly incredulous and oddly thrilled by his lack of respect for me, I replied, laughing, "You can't address me like that." He looked at his feet in a show of remorse, mumbling with an edge of mirth, "Sorry- h-how long have you been training to be a prat," he paused, looking up at me through dark lashes, the upward quirk of the corners of his mouth betraying his otherwise innocent expression- my breath hitched for a moment, my filthy imagination in grave danger of carrying me away- "my Lord."

I gave myself a shake and turned to my friends, smiling with my eyes crinkled, my face a picture of amused disbelief. Everyone on the street had paused to play spectator, and they all chuckled along with Merlin, who looked far too smug for my liking. I struck out, lashing the mace towards Merlin's head; he ducked down a mere second before the spikes collided with his head, and I definitely did not inwardly breathe a sigh of relief. Merlin was now openly expressing his fear and he darted backward, not taking his eye from the swinging weapon in my grip. He quickly lost his own mace to a basket hanging from a cart in our path and I, in a moment of mercy, gave him a few seconds to regain his footing so he could at least back away on his feet.

I cornered him in a barn*, smirking and laughing lowly, "You're in trouble now." But as I stared predatorily down at the sight of Merlin sprawled atop a mess of dirt and hay, his startlingly blue eyes stretched wide and his chest rapidly rising and falling in time with his panting breath, I realized I was in trouble as well.

My appreciation was cut short, however, by my mace becoming tangled on a cart, and Merlin leapt up, smiling widely in relief, and he hurried away from me in search of cover. Suddenly obstacles were seemingly leaping out in front of me each time I came any nearer to my flitting target. A rope pulled taut and brought me flat on my face, and my mace slipped from my hand. Merlin was quick to snatch it up and began rotating it threateningly. I jumped to my feet and backed away, never taking my eyes off the lethal metal Merlin brandished as he shouted, "Do you give up? Do you? Do you want to give up?"

My foot found its way into a bucket and I fell onto my back and into the same position I trapped Merlin in earlier. He looked around at the gathered crowd, breathless and triumphant, and I seized my moment to retaliate. I grabbed a broom propped against the wall and expertly swept Merlin's feet from under him and gave him a smack to the head, effectively knocking him back to the ground. I swept a bit of dirt over him to drive home that I had won and mock him slightly for believing he could have won. As guards grabbed his arms and dragged him up, preparing to haul him to the stocks or the dungeons, I held up a hand to stop them.

"Wait," I ordered, eyeing Merlin who still looked breathless and wary. "He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one." When our gazes were level, I paused, shaking my head slightly at him as I continued, "There's something about you, Merlin." Another pause as I unashamedly looked him over again. "I can't quite put my finger on it," I finished quietly, turning away, trying to put the image of his expressive, grateful sapphire eyes out of my head.

Something indeed.

**VVVVVVV**

***had no idea what else to call it :c**

**Again, so sorry about the months of waiting! D: Forgive me!**

**(Scene is from 1x01, 'the Dragon's Call'.)**

**Thank you for reading! Review?**


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